Preparing

Remove the skin from the catfish by making a cut all around the head, following the contours of the gill covers. Holding the fish by the head, use pliers to pull the skin off. Cut out the portions of fin that remain. Remove the head and entrails. Fillet the fish to prepare for cooking.

Cooking

Pan-fried

Preheat your stove top pan at medium-high with a small amount of oil or butter. Lay the catfish fillets in the pan when you hear the oil start to crackle. Spread your seasoning on the top side, after a few minutes flip the fillet and do the same to the other side. I like to keep it simple with black pepper and cajun spices.

Deep-fried

This southern specialty works best if you cut each catfish fillet in half.

In a small dish, combine one half cup of cornmeal, black pepper, and salt. Mix until consistent.

Ingredients

8 medium potatoes

1 carrot

1 onion

8 slices of bacon

8 Irish pork sausages

pinch of black pepper

pinch of dried thyme

small bunch of fresh parsley

stock

Preparation

Put sausages, sliced carrot, sliced peeled onion and bacon (cut in bite sized pieces) in enough stock (pork, chicken or vegetable) to cover them in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, add herbs and seasoning and simmer for 30 minutes. Peel and halve the potatoes and add to Dutch oven for final 20 minutes or until they are tender. Serve with home made Irish soda bread and Guinness Stout.

Ingredients

3 strips bacon or sausage

2 eggs

2 pinches grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons salsa

2 pita pockets (I prefer Kangaroo)

dry onion soup mix

horseradish

Preparation

Fry the bacon and cut into pieces when done. Fry the eggs in the bacon and then add the onion soup mix. Line toasted pita with a spoon of salsa and horseradish, then fill with eggs and bacon and top with cheese.

Having grown up in Wyoming, I had never had these until I moved to Virginia. Now one of my all time favorites and this is a great time of year to make this dish.

Ingredients

Oil

4 green tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch rings

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon garlic powder

4 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

Pinch cayenne pepper

Pinch paprika

Buttermilk Dipping Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

In a deep-fryer, preheat oil to 350 degrees F.

Season tomatoes, on both sides, with salt and pepper. Place flour and garlic powder in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, beat eggs with the milk. In another dish, mix bread crumbs with cayenne and paprika. Dredge tomatoes through the flour, then the eggs, and then through the bread crumbs. Add only a few pieces to the fryer at a time, so they can cook evenly, about 2 to 3 minutes.

It is national Jelly Doughnut day (Yeah, Americans celebrate everything). So, we can’t really make those camping, here is an easy fun recipe. If you have new adult camping, this is a fun one to break them in on their first morning. Make them an applesauce doughnut and hand them a cup of coffee. You have won them over.

Ingredients

large strips of foil

1 dozen large cinnamon sugar doughnuts

1 jar applesauce

Slice the doughnuts in half like a sandwich and pour about 1/2 cup applesauce on one half of the doughnut and then place the other half on top. Wrap up completely in the foil and then heat in the coals for 10-15 minutes. (Campfire should be burned down to just hot coals.) Open the foil packet and enjoy!

So in the US, troops and packs are winding down their meetings for the summer. So we thought in honor of National Black Cow Day on June 10th (yeah, who lobbied the President if the US to achieve that one?!) we bring you this great summer treat.

Use it for a summer picnic or end of summer party, the scouts will love it!

Ingredients

Optional- that white foamy creamy stuff you put on top. I think you have to know an angel to get some.

Directions

Drizzle the chocolate sauce or syrup into the bottom of a large ice cream soda or pint glass. Add half of the root beer and mix well with a long spoon.

Add 1 scoop of ice cream, then top off the glass with the remaining root beer. Traditionally, the remaining scoop of ice cream is balanced on the rim of the glass—press it down firmly so it doesn’t plop into the table or swan dive into the float—although you could just plunk it in the root beer.

INGREDIENTS

Place the rhubarb pieces into a medium bowl and stir in the sugar. Let the rhubarb macerate for 1 hour so that it releases its juices.

Pour the rhubarb pieces and juices into a medium pot. Stir the ground allspice and 1/3 cup water into the rhubarb.

Set the mixture over medium to medium-high heat. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft. If the mixture is too thick, you may need to add an additional tablespoon or two of water. Scoop the compote into a serving dish.